Hampshire have announced D'Arcy Short, the Australia batter, as one of their overseas signings for the summer's Vitality T20 Blast.

Short was earlier named in Australia's preliminary squad to play ODIs and T20Is in the West Indies in July, and if he is selected for the final touring party, that could impact on his availability for the Blast. Hampshire hope to have him involved throughout the tournament.

Short, 30, has previously appeared in the Blast for Durham, as well as featuring in T20 leagues around the world, including the IPL. An aggressive opener, he averages 36.40 with a strike rate of 133.58 in T20, and also offers a handy bowling option with his left-arm wristspin.

"We are delighted to secure the signing of D'Arcy for this summer's Vitality Blast competition," Giles White, Hampshire's director of cricket, said.

"He is a high-class performer who has consistently shown his ability to score a high volume of runs at the top of the order, both for Australia and in a number of the world's best T20 competitions. Alongside his skill with the bat, he also gives us another spin bowling option with the ball so we're excited about what he brings to the side and are looking forward to having him with us."

Short's most-recent Australia outings came in December, during the T20I series against India. Overall, he has 23 T20I caps and eight in ODIs, having debuted in 2018.

Short said: "I am so excited to join a club with as much history as Hampshire Hawks. I can't wait to get to the Ageas Bowl and hopefully we can have a strong season and win our first title since 2012."

Hampshire, who came bottom of the South Group in last summer's T20 Blast, have also signed Colin De Grandhomme for the second half of the Blast, and have South Africa seamer Kyle Abbott on their books as an overseas player.

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